


You Make Me Smile

by kitausuret



Series: Kinktober 2018 [26]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Venom (Comics)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Eddie & Flash Roommates, Eddie Getting His Shit Together, FEELINGS ARE WEIRD, Kinktober with no Kink, M/M, Minor Angst, Multi, Neurochemicals are Tasty, Other, Pining, Supportive Flash, Symbiotic Relationship, Tanis is Eddie's Therapist, smiles/laughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 03:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16442108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitausuret/pseuds/kitausuret
Summary: Venom is learning to thrive on chemicals other than adrenaline, and discovers the wide variety of "tastes" Eddie experiences in different situations. Eddie likes to be happy, andVenomlikes when its host is happy.So when someone or something gives him joy... why does he try to push them away?(Kinktober Day 26: Smiles/Laughter)





	You Make Me Smile

**Author's Note:**

> For every day of fluff or smut, there clearly must be another in which there are feels and quite possibly angst as well.

Venom knew it was drawn to anger. It was drawn to rage; to the rush of adrenaline that led to fight or flight; the way every muscle of its hosts could tense into a coil before lashing out uncontrollably. Flash described it as an addiction; Eddie as a danger he didn’t like to think about very often. They’d been working on it, though, with Flash and Dr. Tanis Nieves, assigned as Eddie’s doctor.

She’d asked them one day, “What is it that you’re craving, when you feel the rage boiling up? When you want to unleash it? What’s the appeal?”

And so Eddie had thought, and consulted Venom, and at last answered, “It makes us feel… powerful. The intensity of the emotion. It gives us strength.”

“I see.” Nieves had tapped her notebook thoughtfully. “You have lots of emotions, though. Can the motivation be… something else?” When he didn’t respond, she went on, “You say you want to seek justice in the world, Eddie. You want to right wrongs. Why?”

Eddie had tightened up, then. “I… we…” Venom had felt him fishing around for a reason, but the doctor didn’t push the topic.

“If it’s not because you feel angry at the world, or wronged by others, or even if you do but that’s not your motivation, maybe you should consider the possibility that Venom can run on alternative fuels.”

He’d scoffed a little. “What, the power of _love_?”

“You tell me,” she’d said with a smile. “See you next week.”

\-----

Eddie didn’t always take what Dr. Nieves said to heart, but Venom usually did. So after that, the symbiote started paying closer attention to Eddie’s neurological responses and how they _felt_ ; how they _tasted_ and the resulting feedback. Venom was cautious these days, particularly with Eddie, fearing a relapse into the parasitism it had been afflicted with all those years ago, but it felt stronger every week. It could dig a little deeper; be a little more honest.

And so it observed, both itself and Eddie.

There were little things day to day that gave Eddie a small burst of dopamine that was rather delectable: the smell of coffee in the morning, the feel of the daily edition of the Bugle in his hands, or the satisfaction of finishing an assignment. He got stronger emotions, too, like when he aced a midterm assignment for one of his graduate courses at the university, or one night on a patrol when they managed to finally take out a human trafficking ring in Brooklyn. They were mixed, sometimes with the bitterness of frustration or the savory sensation that accompanied righteous anger. These mixes were not as sustaining, and so Venom often tried to get Eddie to calm down.

People, though… people could bring out some new and exciting emotions. But sometimes these emotions caused Eddie to react with fear; with a burst of adrenaline and a need to flee. It was confusing when it happened around people they both enjoyed the company of.

People like Flash Thompson.

\-----

“Hey, um, I made coffee.”

Venom stirred from the back of Eddie’s mind when Flash approached. Through its host’s eyes, the symbiote saw the other man offer a lopsided smile. Eddie smiled, too, and Venom shivered with delight at the sensation.

“Thanks, Flash.” He took the warm mug, and then seeing which one it was, laughed, sending up a sparkle of endorphins. “Really? _This_ one?”

It was an otherwise plain cup, but its handle was shaped in some horrifying rendition of Spielberg’s _E.T._ When Eddie laughed, though, Flash’s smile had brightened, too. And seeing Flash happy made Eddie even happier, which tasted even _better_ than just regular happiness or amusement.

Eddie shook his head, still chuckling. “This is an abomination.”

“Why do you think Andi bought it for me?”

“She must be a regular at that thrift shop…” He took a sip - tablespoon of cream, just a touch of sugar. It was perfect, and for some reason, that made Eddie uncomfortable. “Thanks.” Eddie lifted the mug in a mock toast. “Whatever keeps the mind going.”

Flash smiled in that way that made Eddie go into a flurry of emotions that he would just as quickly bury. “I’m really proud of you, y’know? I mean, hell, I dropped out after a year or so and enlisted. So maybe it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but… for what it’s worth…”

“I-” Eddie looked down at his work, mind filling with a hundred possible things to say, a thousand thoughts he’d had a dozen times over, only to settle with a quiet, “Thanks.”

Flash patted his arm and went to go take care of the dishes. Eddie didn’t move for several seconds before he shook himself. The bright taste still lingered, though dulled by sadness.

 _Eddie?_ Venom probed, and reached a tendril out to move the warm mug closer.

Whenever it spoke to him, it received a wave of affection that tasted better than almost anything else Eddie felt. Eddie wouldn’t let the same reaction linger when he looked at Flash, though. Even so, he reached back to his other, perhaps content with the fact that he was distracted anyhow.

_“What is it, love?”_

_Strange reaction. To Flash. You look at him, and he makes you happy, but then sad._

A bristle; like a fence going up between them, as if to cut Venom off from his thoughts. _“He doesn’t… why would you think that? He’s a good person, that’s all.”_

_If he makes you happy, why do you feel afraid when you realize how he makes you feel?_

_“I’m not afraid. I don’t know why you think that. He’s unusual, and maybe that’s making you read my reactions wrong.”_

_Eddie,_ the symbiote went on, a little exasperated, _do_ I _make you happy?_

 _“What? Of course you do,”_ Eddie responded. Another flood of affection, though Venom would not be distracted by it this time.

 _Don’t push_ me _away, but you push_ Flash _away._

_“You’re different, love. You know me.”_

_Maybe Flash wants to know you, too._ It felt that fearful reaction again and hurried to soothe it. _I know him, Eddie. Been in his mind; his heart. He makes you smile and laugh, and I like it when you smile and laugh. Tastes… good. Better than the anger. Makes us both healthier and stronger._

 _“I’m not sure he wants to know me.”_ Anxiety stirred up his brain like tart citrus. _“You’re the one he cares about, Venom.”_

_Can care about more than one person, Eddie. Can make more than one person happy._

Eddie drummed his fingers against the terrible coffee mug and smiled a little before setting it down. _“You might be right. Maybe I’ll talk to him.”_

As he returned to his academic work, Venom settled back again, allowing Eddie to focus. It peeked out through the corner of his eyes to see Flash in the peripheral, who glanced over from the kitchen as he often did when feeling Venom’s presence.

Happiness was such a wonderful and precious thing. Why did humans so often seem reluctant to grasp it?


End file.
